


Breaching These Cold Waters

by CookiesVersusCream



Series: Thermal Equilibrium [1]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Flashbacks, Gender Neutral Venom Symbiote (Marvel), Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Blood, Minor Bloodshed, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Other, Panic Attacks, Please tell me if I'm missing any tags!, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, accidental violence, but only for like one sentence, unintentional violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 01:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16337033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookiesVersusCream/pseuds/CookiesVersusCream
Summary: OUR BODY HAS BEEN FEELING… UNPLEASANT LATELY. WE HAVE NOTICED THAT THE WORST INCIDENTS FOLLOW EXTREME MENTAL ACTIVITY. HOW DO WE FIX IT?Things may have settled down, but nothing is truly over. Eddie doesn't know what to do about this. Venom is confused in a different sort of way, but they're certain about one thing: they want him to feel better. And if that takes some doing on their part, well, they're more than happy to oblige.





	Breaching These Cold Waters

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot believe that Sony knows about my tastes in monster/human relationships specifically and made an entire movie just to call me out. I haven't actually had the chance to watch the movie yet, but I know that these things are definitely true for fact.
> 
> (I apologize if the characters are ooc or if anything about the setting is incorrect. If anything is particularly jarring, please tell me in the comments.)

Eddie Brock is only human. This is his first problem.

His mind wanders. Sometimes to the lab. Sometimes to the spaceship. Sometimes to the water, the freezing in his chest, the burning in his lungs, the numbness spiraling up from his fingertips and toes, through his arms and legs, constricting him until he feels nothing, nothing –

He gasps. Stale air rushes into his lungs, painfully, but it’s air and he can breathe and –

Wait a minute, when did he get into his bed?

He glances at the alarm clock. The numbers flash back at him, reading 3:11. Huh. Last he had checked, it was 12:46. And if he recalls correctly, he was sitting at his desk at this time, eating the remainder of the tater tots that constituted his lunch more often than they should these days, working on an article that was due at…

Shit.

He rips the blanket off of himself. Maybe his fists are clenching to the sheets a bit tighter than they need to, maybe they’re white and trembling, but he can’t afford to think about that right now. Because if he does, his mind will return to the water, the way he was sinking, alone, the numbness threatening to overtake his body, threatening to contort his limbs until they formed knots, and he would sink and continue to sink, all alone, in the endless watery void –

**EDDIE.**

The mental and verbal interruption immediately brings Eddie back to his senses. That’s when he notices another face looming inches away from his own. All he can see are the huge, curved eyes and the rows of razor sharp teeth – the rest of the face blends into the darkness of the room. If he had the mental capacity to do so, it would occur to him that this would be a strange hour for it to be so dark. However, he is currently preoccupied with the terror that jolts down his spine, and before he has time to think, he jumps back. The back of his head hits the headboard, and in the few seconds before the pain sets in, he processes what is happening.

**WE’RE HUNGRY.**

Venom says this simply, says this as if they hadn’t just made Eddie fear for his life.

Eddie Brock isn’t only human. This is his second problem.

“We just had lunch a few hours ago. If we keep on eating like this, we’ll go broke, and then we won’t be able to have any food.”

Venom cocks their head.

**WE LAST ATE HOURS AGO. WE ARE HUNGRY.**

That’s when it hits him. He looks out the window, and sure enough, the only light that greets him comes from cars and buildings. He falls back onto his pillow with a groan. “How long was I out?” He asks, the question only half rhetorical.

**A WHILE. I WAS EVEN NICE ENOUGH TO BRING OUR BODY TO BED. NOW UP. WE’RE –**

“Hungry, yes, I know,” Eddie grumbles. He throws his legs off the bed, his toes grazing the floor, and he tries not to think about how cold it is. Focusing on the task at hand, he plants one foot on the floor, then the other, and he tries not to think about how it takes a few seconds for the feeling to return to his legs, for the tingling to subside. He plods his way to the kitchen, not caring if the person below him will file a noise complaint the next day, and opens the fridge.

The sudden light is blinding, and his eyes forcibly squeeze shut. Even with his eyes closed, the blue light forces its way into the edges of his vision. Then the blast of cold air hits his body, and everything else goes black, everything else is tinged with blue, and goddammit, why is he this pathetic, why won’t his brain shut off for a goddamned second –

**EDDIE? EDDIE!**

He feels large, clawed fingers dig into his shoulders, but they’re warm, and it’s a welcome change. When he opens his eyes, he sees a silhouette towering above him, outlined by the light of the still-open fridge. He realizes that he had sunken to his knees, his legs having given out during the flashback. He tries to stand up, but Venom’s grip keeps him in place.

“Vee, let up. I need to get up so I can make us food.”

Venom’s grip loosens ever so slightly, but not enough for him to move. They frown, and Eddie is surprised to see a look of what could best be described as contemplation on their face. Venom is not one to think before they speak, especially when they are hungry. He’s then surprised at himself for being so touched by this gesture.

**OUR BODY HAS BEEN FEELING… UNPLEASANT LATELY. WE HAVE NOTICED THAT THE WORST INCIDENTS FOLLOW EXTREME MENTAL ACTIVITY. HOW DO WE FIX IT?**

Venom crouches down while speaking, but Eddie’s head still only reaches their chest. He shivers, both because of the fridge to his back and the imposing figure in front of him.

“Christ, Vee. I’ve – we’ve been through a lot. The brain doesn’t know what to do about that, so it fixates on the problem. But that makes the body panic, as if it is actually experiencing something bad.”

**HOW DO WE FIX IT?**

By now, the claws have broken skin, and he can feel the warm blood pooling on his shoulders. It stings a bit, but it provides a good distraction. “I don’t know,” he groans. “But I do know that we need food, and also that you’re making making my shoulders bleed, so let go and let me heat up some tots.”

Venom releases him hesitantly, fingers slowly unfurling from his shoulders, as if he will break once again without their touch. And even after they let go of him, they remain separate, watching Eddie. He stands up and reaches for one of the bags of taters tots in the fridge, pours the entire bag onto a used paper plate, and places the haphazard tower in the microwave. He slams the door shut, perhaps more forcefully than he needed to, presses a few buttons, then lets the magic happen.

**WE JUST HAD TATER TOTS.**

“Oh, and you’re complaining?” Despite Eddie being faced away from them, Venom can hear the eyebrow-raise in his voice.  


**NO.**

An uncomfortable silence lingers for a few moments.

**THERE’S SOMETHING YOU’RE NOT TELLING US.**

He groans, and they can see his body slacken. “Can’t you just, I don’t know, read my mind or something?”

There’s something more to this question, something just underneath the surface, but Venom can’t tell what. So they tell him the truth.

**WE HAVE. YOU ARE FIXATING ON WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE SPACESHIP EXPLODED, BEING IN THE WATER, BEING SEPARATED.**

The pensive expression returns to their face.

**BUT WE DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY. WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN DANGER. AND IF THERE IS DANGER, WE WILL PROTECT YOU. WE ARE TOGETHER.**

Eddie’s body tenses without warning, then sways, and Venom catches him before he falls to the ground again. The microwave goes off, three loud beeps resounding through the dark apartment, but they both ignore it. They are surprised to feel something wet in the crook of their arm, and when they look down, they are even more surprised to see him sobbing into it, his body heaving.

“You’re warm, Vee,” He says. “So so so warm.”

Venom tries to process his emotions. There’s fear, and sorrow, but that isn’t it. Intermingling with these feelings are relief, and joy, and fondness, though the reasoning behind these emotions is beyond them.

Eddie must feel their confusion because he says, through his sobs, “Emotions don’t work like that. They come whenever they feel like it, and then you’re stuck feeling them.”

This doesn’t explain anything, but they can feel that he’s starting to feel better, and that this is somehow related to their physical presence. So they continue to hold him. Then an idea comes, and they card a massive hand through his hair. He groans, this time out of pleasure they can tell, and his body relaxes, almost like he’s melting into them. They remain in this position for what could be minutes, or what could be hours, until Eddie wordlessly breaks away from their grasp. This time, they let him go, even if they are sad to lose the sensation of their fingers running through his hair.

**DID WE HELP? ARE YOU BETTER?**

He nods, then takes a breath. “Thanks Vee. Didn’t realize how much I needed that.”

Venom crouches down so that they are at eye-level with him, then nuzzle their face against his. They feel his lips smile on them, and the small kiss that follows. Taking his lower lip between two of their teeth, they bite down ever so gently, their approximation of a kiss. Eddie laughs, and the vibrations send waves of pleasure through their form.

“C’mon love,” Eddie says once this kiss is broken. “Let’s get some taters in you then head back to bed.”

**NO. YOU SLEEP. WE EAT.**

He looks like he’s about to protest, but then a yawn escapes him, and suddenly sleep seems very appealing. “Will you hold me?” He asks.

**OF COURSE, LOVE.**


End file.
